Woman&#39;s dress



May 9, 1939. E. c. ROBERTSON ET AL 2,157,460

WOMAN S DRES S Filed Aug. 17, 1937 Patents May 9,

UNITED STATES WOMANS DRESS Eugene C. Robertson and Betty Roy Hamman,Decatur, 111., assignors to Decatur Garment Company, Decatur, 11].

Application August 17, 1937, Serial No. 159,570

3 Claims.

This invention relates to women's dresses and more particularly to thetype of dress known as wrap-around house frocks.

The prime object of the invention is .0 construct such a garment that itpresents a fitted appearance, is economical to manufacture and properlycovers the person.

Another object is to make up a garment of this character which will fitthe wearer's body snugly 0 and be retained in position without the useof buttons, snaps or hooks.

A still further object is to cut and fabricate the dress from a seriesof flared panels joined to an outwardly tapered flared shoulder piece insuch a manner that when the dress is worn a sleeve appearance isobtained without the use of actual sleeves and which fits the wearersnugly under the arm without constriction when the sides of the garmentare wrapped around the body in overlapping relation.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the garment spread out to show its componentparts.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the garment in position on thewearer and illustrating the snug fit under the arms and wrap-aroundfeature.

Fig. 3 illustrates the manner in which the wearer assembles the dress tothe person.

Fig. 4 is a rear perspective showing the fit of the shoulders and thetying straps.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary View showing the position of the front and rearlapping sections when the wearer is taking a long or elevated step.

Essentially the garment consists of main front and rear sections I and2, the front section being composed of three flared panels 3, 4 and 5,while the rear section has corresponding panels 6, I

and 8. The front and rear sections l and 2 are joined at their upperedges to an outwardly flared, relatively narrow medial shoulder panel oryoke.

The front and rear panels 3, 4, 5 and 6, I, 8 are tapered or cut with atop and bottom flare, as illustrated in Fig. 1, so that, when the dressis worn it will conform to the figure. A fitted appearance is therebyattained both in the bodice and skirt portions, and the dress possesseswhat is known in the trade as a princess line. The present designcompletely eliminates the previous attempts to construct a practicalwrap around type of house frock which have resulted in clumsy nonfittinggarments, possessing small utility and utter lack of estheticappearance.

The fit of the dress at the shoulder and in the 5 belled bodice and theflared, graceful skirt which is provided result from the opposite,concave longitudinal edges of the four-sided shoulder panel 9, theconvex upper edges of the tapered front and rear sections l, 2, themarkedly concaved longitudinal edges of said sections, and the relationship of these parts to each other.

The general fit and appearance is further enhanced by having the topportions of the front side panels 3 and 5 shirred at I0 to give fullnessfor the bust with a head opening I l formed in the flared medial yoke 3and top of the middle panel 4 of the front section I. The portion of thehead opening in the panel 4 may be a simple cutout section or it mayconsist of a folded over vestee l2 having its lower end terminating onthe longitudinal seam formed between front panels 4 and 5 so as to givea double-breasted effect.

Pockets l3 are preferably attached to the inner edge of the side panels3 and 5 of the front section and are stitched outwardly to the panels. Apair of cppositely extending belts or tapes I! are affixed to the outeredges of the rear side panels 5 and 8, while additional belts I5,preferably made of the same material as thedress proper, are secured tothe front side panels 3 and 5. It is important that the front belts,which extend around the waist of the wearer and show when the dress isworn, should be stitched at l6 in the seam between the front center andside panels and at the outside edges of the side panels with theoverlying portions between the stitching free. It will be obvious thatshirring, lace or other ornamental trimming may be applied to the dress,as indicated on the collar, vestee, yoke and pockets.

In use, the wearer inserts her head through opening II and permits thefront and rear sections to drape the body, whereupon the tying tapes orcords H of the rear section are tied over the front of the body, asillustrated in Fig. 3. The front section is then positioned and the endsof the front belts l5 tied at the rear, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4,although, if desired, the front section may be tied first, with the rearsection overlapping at the sides. Either position will cause theoverlapping of the side panels, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and noportions of the limbs are exposed, even though the wearer takes a longor high step.

The curved formation of the yoke 9 with the outwardly flared portions ofthe front and rear sections insures a snug under arm arrangement, asshown in Fig. 2. The curved flared top section of the front and rearportions, together with the flared yoke, give the wearer the propershoul- 'der support for the garment and a sleeve appearance without theuse of a true sleeve, and thus, constriction of the arms is avoided anda fitted and snug form of the dress is secured.

What is claimed is:

l. A dress for women comprising an upwardly tapered front section havingopposed concavities in its longitudinal edges adjacent the top end; anupwardly tapered rear section also having opposed concavities in itslongitudinal edges adjacent the top end; a four-sided shoulder panelintermediate the front and rear sections and provided with a centralnotch adjacent the front section, said shoulder panel having itsopposite longitudinal edges markedly concaved and its oppositetransverse edges convexed, said rear section having a convex upper edgecoextensive with and joined to one of the concave edges of the shoulderpanel, and said front section having a discontinuous convex upper edgewith a notch therein aligned with the notch of the shoulder panel andits adjacent convex edges joined in shirred fashion to the adjacentconcave edges of the shoulder panel, the convex edges of the shoulderpanel and the adjacent edge continuation of the front and rear sectionsproviding a sleeveless, belled bodice, and the tapered front and rearsections a full, graceful skirt when the dress is in use; and tie meansfor separately securing the front and rear sections about the waist of awearer.

2. A dress for women comprising an upwardly tapered front section havingopposed concavities in its longitudinal edges adjacent the top end; anupwardly tapered rear section also having opposed concavities in itslongitudinal edges adjacent the top end; a four-sided shoulder panelintermediate the front and rear sections and provided with a centralnotch adjacent the front section, said shoulder panel having itsopposite longitudinal edges markedly concaved, said rear section havinga convex upper edge coextensive with and joined to one of the concaveedges of the shoulder panel, and said front section having adiscontinuous convex upper edge with a notch therein aligned with thenotch of the shoulder panel and its adjacent convex edges joined to theadjacent concave edges of the shoulder panel, the transverse edges ofthe shoulder panel and the adjacent edge continuation of the front andrear sections providing a sleeveless, belied bodice, and the taperedfront and rear sections a full, flared skirt, when the dress is in use;and belt means for separately securing the front and rear sections aboutthe waist of a wearer.

3. A dress for women comprising an upwardly tapered front section havingopposed concavities in its longitudinal edges adjacent the top end, anupwardly tapered rear section also having opposed concavities in itslongitudinal edges adjacent the top end; a four-sided shoulder panelintermediate the front and rear pieces and provided with a central notchadjacent the front section, said shoulder panel having its oppositelongitudinal edges markedly concaved and its opposite transverse edgesconvexed, said rear section having a convex upper edge coextensive with,and joined to one of the concave edges of the shoulder panel, and saidfront section having a discontinuous convex upper edge with a notchtherein aligned with the notch of the shoulder panel and its adjacentconvex edges joined in shirred fashion to the adjacent concave edges ofthe shoulder panel, the transverse edges of the shoulder panel and theadjacent edge continuation of the front and rear sections providing asleeveless, belied bodice, and the tapered front and rear pieces a full,flared skirt, when the dress is in use; a vestee piece secured indiagonal overlapping relation to the front section adjacent the notchand to the front concave edge of the shoulder panel, the front sectionbeing provided with a longitudinal seam extending from the lower end ofthe vestee piece to give a doublebreasted effect; and belt means forseparately securing the front and rear sections about the waist of awearer.

EUGENE C. ROBERTSON. BE'I'I'Y ROY HAMMAN.

